Robert Velline, born in 1943 in Fargo, North Dakota, had a band with his brother called The Shadows. When Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper were killed in an airplane crash during the winter Dance Party Tour on February 3, 1959, Bobby Vee filled in for Buddy Holly, whose next stop was to be Moorehead, Minnesota, not far from Fargo. Then Vee and his band (which briefly included a musician named Elston Gunn, otherwise known as Bob Zimmerman) hit the road. Vee was signed to Liberty Records in Los Angeles.
One of the most popular and prolific gentlemen in the music business created the only American musical act that rivaled The Beatles and The Beach Boys. His name is Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, born in Newark, New Jersey in 1934. We all know him of course as Frankie Valli, leader of The Four Seasons and possessor of one of the best falsetto voices ever put to wax.
One of the most prominent purveyors of the California musical scene is Johnny Rivers. Born in New York in 1942 as John Ramistella, Rivers is well-known as a musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and label owner/founder. From 1964 to 1968, most people recognize Johnny as a live performer, popular with crowds and audiences at the Whiskey a Go Go club in Los Angeles.
Today we honor the greatest electric guitar instrumental band ever. Formed in Tacoma Washington in 1958 by Don Wilson, who died this week at the age of 88, and fellow guitarist Bob Bogle, at first they called themselves the Versatones. Wilson and Bogle later changed their name to The Ventures and made the duo a quartet by adding guitarist/bassist Nokie Edwards and drummer Howie Johnson.